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News & Updates
Monday, December 22, 2008 @ 1:00pm CT
Senator
Rutherford Calls Press Conference
I have received word that Senator Rutherford
will hold a press conference tomorrow morning at
9:30am at his office in Pontiac regarding the
prison situation and information from the FBI.
I have no further information as I was not aware
of any conversations with the FBI and the
Senator until his release this afternoon.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 @ 8:10am CT
BREAKING NEWS:
Blagojevich Arrested By Feds
Chicago Tribune first reported Governor Rod
Blagojevich was arrested by Federal agents at
his home in Chicago early this morning. We
will be posting the related news articles to the
IN THE NEWS
section of this web site.
Thursday, December 4, 2008 @ 5:00pm CT
Governor's Task Force
-- Nowhere To Be Found?
Today, Mayor McCoy issued a press statement
regarding the Governor's Task Force. The
statement was sent in response to media inquires
over the past couple of days on the progress of
the Task Force.
Mayor McCoy's statement said that he has not yet
been contacted by the Task Force or the
Governor's office, and the Task Force does not
exist as far as he could see. Mayor McCoy
has also made inquires with the Governor's
office and other state agencies, with no
response.
When the media contacted the Governor's office
this afternoon, the said the Task Force has met
twice and has been working on helping the
employees of PCC first. Then, when they
are ready, they will contact local leaders to
see how they can help the communities.
They also indicated there are two workshops/job
fairs setup for December 9th and 11th (with no
location or times provided to any of the media).
Mayor McCoy contacted the union and learned the
Governor's office called this afternoon (after
the media inquires) to setup these two
workshops. It appears the state had done
nothing prior to being triggered by media
inquires from Mayor McCoy's statement about the
non-existent Task Force.
I've posted
details and comments on my personal blog:
CLICK HERE
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 @ 4:45pm CT
Mayor
McCoy Meets With IDOC Director Walker
Mayor McCoy met with IDOC Director Roger Walker
on Tuesday for two hours. They discussed
the pending prison closure. The mayor's
full press release is available under the
DOWNLOADS section of
this web site.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 @ 8:30am CT
Thomson
Ceiling Collapses
Yesterday morning, the ceiling/roof of one of
the wings of Thomson correctional center
collapsed to the floor. However, there are
two very different versions of what happened.
IDOC says it was a ceiling that fell.
However, union representatives have reported to
Mayor McCoy that more of the structure was
damaged because there was a loss of power and
possibly damage to water pipes in the facility.
The union also reported they are not being
allowed in the facility to inspect the other
areas that may have the same issues as this
wing, which is a safety concern for guards and
inmates working in the facility. Thomson
is only about 7 years old. When asked
about the 137-year-old Pontiac facility, the
union said "we've never had a ceiling just
collapse in Pontiac."
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 @ 9:30am CT
March On
Springfield Today!
This afternoon, people from all over the state
will join together with AFSCME to protest the
Pontiac Prison closure. We'll post
pictures on this site from the rally!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 @ 8:00pm CT
Mayor
McCoy Asked To Testify At Illinois House
Appropriations Committee Hearing
With the recent connections between the Pontiac
Prison closure and the state's parole/recidivism
issues, Mayor McCoy has been asked to testify at
the Illinois House Appropriations Committee
Hearing on Thursday, November 20th. The
hearing is scheduled to be held in room 114 of
the Capitol Building in Springfield, and begins
at 8:30am. The subject matter of the
hearing is the Department of Corrections
operations.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 @ 6:00pm CT
AFSCME
Stops Transfers From Pontiac PCC
Today, a judge in Johnson County circuit court
issued a temporary restraining order that bars
IDOC from transferring inmates out of Pontiac
Correctional Center due to dangerous
overcrowding and safety concerns. The
restraining order prohibits transfers from
Pontiac except in the case of normal operations
through December 1, 2008, when the court will
hear a state motion to dismiss the AFSCME suit.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 @ 4:45pm CT
State
Re-Evaluating Pontiac and Stateville?
We've received word that several "black state
vehicles" and a helicopter were at the Pontiac
Prison today. The word from multiple
sources is that the state is re-evaluating the
Pontiac facility and Stateville facility.
We have not been able to verify this information
and no information has been forwarded from our
local state leadership. We will continue
to look into what was happening today at PCC.
Monday, November 17, 2008 @ 6:30pm CT
Flanagan
Ambulance Captain Lost to Prison Closure
Captain John Klein of the Flanagan Ambulance
service in Flanagan, Illinois has resigned his
position with the department. He states it
is "due to the situation with the prison."
Captain Klein worked at the Pontiac Correctional
Center. This is another loss due to the
prison closure to one of our central Illinois
communities. We thank him for his service
with PCC as well as to the city of Flanagan and
surrounding communities.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 @ 10:30am CT
Community
Update for PCC
AFSCME, Senator Rutherford, and Mayor McCoy have
setup a community update meeting for Wednesday,
November 5th at 7:30am at the VFW in Pontiac.
Public is invited. No charge. Donuts
and coffee provided. This is an
informational meeting for the public.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 @ 11:00am CT
Governor
Launches Task Force to Focus on PCC Transition
Today, Governor Blagojevich announced that he
has setup a transition task force of state
agencies to assist Pontiac and the area during
the closure of the Pontiac Correctional Center.
Read the release here:
RELEASE
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 @ 5:30pm CT
March On Springfield - Bus Trip to Save
Pontiac Prison
Official details and an online registration form
are now posted on SavePontiacPrison.com.
CLICK HERE
Sunday, October 26, 2008 @ 9:20pm CT
AFSCME
Planning Bus Rally for November 19th
AFSCME, the union that represents the Pontiac
Prison guards is planning a bus trip of
protesters for November 19th. Details on
this trip and sign-up information will be
released this week.
Friday, October 24, 2008 @ 8:00pm CT
IDOC Gives
Official Notice of Pontiac Prison Closure
The Illinois Department of Corrections has given
official notice to that the state plans to close
Pontiac Correctional Center by December 31,
2008. See the
IN THE NEWS section of this site for
more information.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 @ 2:00pm CT
Temporary
Restraining Order (TRO) Denied
AFSCME asked a judge today to grant a temporary
restraining order and stop the transfer of
inmates from the Pontiac Correctional Center to
other facilities. The TRO was denied.
An appeal by AFSCME will be requested.
Monday, October 6, 2008 @ 1:00pm
PCC
Inmates Being Transferred
For the past several days, there have been
rumors of inmates being transferred from
Pontiac's Prison. Today, news outlets are
reporting these transfers. See the
IN THE NEWS section of this site for
more information.
Monday, September 29, 2008 @ 3:00pm
PSA
Dewberry Report Available
We found the full version (and a summary) of the
PSA Dewberry report. These are now
available in the
DOWNLOADS section of this site.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 @ 1:00pm CT
COGFA
Advisory Opinion Report Released
COGFA just released their Advisory Opinion
report a few moments ago. You can download
it from this site by clicking
DOWNLOADS on the menu.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 @ 10:30am CT
Audio From
COGFA September 16th Meeting and Vote
COGFA has released the audio of the COGFA
meeting of September 16th.
[Click
here for AUDIO]
Thursday, September 18, 2008 @ 3:00pm CT
AFSCME,
Officials Take Legal Action Against Prison
Closure
AFSCHME and several local government leaders
joined in a lawsuit to stop the Pontiac prison
closure.
NOTE: Please review news articles on this topic
under [IN
THE NEWS] for additional information.
Tuesday, September
16, 2008 @ 4:00pm CT
COGFA
Votes To Save Pontiac Prison
COGFA (Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability) voted Tuesday afternoon to
recommend that the state keep the Pontiac Prison
open. The vote was 9-0. Mayor McCoy
attended the meeting in Springfield. The
meeting was held in Springfield and Chicago --
joined by video-conference.
Friday, September
12, 2008 @ 4:10pm CT
COGFA Sets
Date for Vote
COGFA informed us today that they have scheduled
a meeting for Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at
3:00pm to meet on the Pontiac Prison issue.
COGFA is expected to vote and make their
recommendation on the proposed closure at this
meeting. The meeting will be held in
Springfield and also Chicago via
video-conference. Mayor McCoy will be
attending the meeting in Springfield.
Wednesday,
September 10, 2008 @ 4:00pm CT
Department
of Corrections Responds to COGFA Commission's
Questions
COGFA has released the response from the
Illinois Department of Corrections to several
questions COGFA wanted to inquire about in
regard to the closing of the Pontiac
Correctional Center. This information is
now available as a PDF file under the
DOWNLOADS section of
this web site.
Tuesday, August
26, 2008 @ 8:30pm CT
Hearing
Speeches Available
We've posted a couple of the hearing speeches on
this site for your reference. You can find
these in the DOWNLOADS section of this web site.
We'll add more as they become available by the
speakers.
Friday, August 22,
2008 @ 4:15pm CT
Public
Hearing Videos Available Online
COGFA has released the video from the public
hearing on August 20th on their web site.
You can watch the hearing in it's entirety.
Click here to go to COGFA site.
Tuesday, August
19, 2008 @ 4:30pm CT
COGFA Hearing Agenda
The agenda for the COGFA public hearing on
Pontiac Correctional Center is available on the
COGFA web site.
Click
here
to view the agenda.
Thursday, August
14, 2008 @ 12:10pm CT
Mayor
McCoy Asks Businesses For Help Displaying
Support
Mayor Scott McCoy of Pontiac is asking all
Pontiac businesses to help display support for
keeping the Pontiac Prison open by changing
their outdoor message boards to display only
"SAVE PONTIAC PRISON" all day on Wednesday,
August 20th. The mayor wants to show
overwhelming support throughout the community on
Wednesday as the COGFA commission members drive
through the city for the public hearing on
Wednesday.
Thursday, August
14, 2008 @ 11:30am CT
Hearing
Details
The following details have been made available
regarding the public hearing on August 20th.
The hearing will begin promptly at 5:00pm.
Doors to the auditorium will be opened at
4:00pm. Taking video or photos of the
hearing is prohibited. Families are
welcome. Seating is a first-come,
first-served basis. Several of the front
rows will be reserved for witnesses.
Cellular phones and pagers should be turned off
during the hearing. Additional
announcements will be made by the commission at
the beginning of the hearing.
Tuesday, August
12, 2008 @ 10:30am CT
Attending
the Hearing on August 20th
The public hearing for the Pontiac Correctional
Center is scheduled for Wednesday, August 20th
beginning promptly at 5:00pm at the Pontiac
Township High School in Pontiac. Everyone
is urged to attend and bring others!
Attendees are asked to arrive early for best
seating. More information about the
hearing will be posted on this website when it
becomes available.
Friday, August 8,
2008 @ 4:30pm CT
Governor
Says he "doesn't want to" close Pontiac
Prison... Really???
Today, Governor Blagojevich answered questions
from a reporter who asked if he still intends to
close the Pontiac Prison. The Governor was
quoted by a Pantagraph reported saying "That's
not something I want to do," and "I don't want
to." The Governor pointed the blame toward
"those Democrats in the House" and said they
need to "do the responsible thing and provide
funding so that decisions like that don't have
to be made."
RESPONSE: This
means nothing. It's just talk and words.
Don't try to read into it. Ignore it and
concentrate on getting people to the hearing on
August 20th at 5:00pm at the Pontiac
Township High School. The only
thing that means anything is the Governor
signing the letter to stop the process and to
keep Pontiac Prison open. That is the only
real action that means the prison is saved.
Friday, August 8, 2008 @ 2:00pm CT
Finkenbinder's Photo with Governor
Kathy Finkenbinder meets Governor at State Fair
in Springfield and takes photo with "Save
Pontiac Prison" shirt!
[Mayor
McCoy's Blog Here]
[State
Journal-Register Blog]
Wednesday, August
6,
2008 @ 6:00pm CT
Prison Hearing Rescheduled for
Wednesday, August 20th
The Pontiac Prison
Hearing date has officially been rescheduled
from August 12th to Wednesday, August
20th. The time is still 5:00pm
and the location is the Pontiac Township High
School. The reason for the move was
because the Governor called a special meeting on
the same date as the hearing. There was no
way to get the CoGFA members from Springfield to
Pontiac in time. In addition, when the
state Legislature is in session, committees
cannot meet by law. Please mark your
calendars for Wednesday, August 20th at
5:00pm at the Pontiac Township High School.
Wednesday, August
6,
2008 @ 2:10pm CT
Prison Hearing Rescheduled?
Today, we've learned that the special session in
Springfield for the 12th and 13th by the
Governor may cause the Pontiac Prison Hearing to
be rescheduled for next week.
[Read
Pantagraph Article Here]
[Mayor
McCoy's Blog Here]
Wednesday, August
6,
2008 @ 12:00pm CT
ASTA Care Center Petition Drive
Tomorrow
ASTA Care Center of Pontiac is announcing that
they will hold a Drive Thru Petition Signing
event on Thursday, August 7th from 9:30am until
4:00pm at the ASTA Care Center on Lowell Avenue
-- across from the Pontiac Correctional Center
in Pontiac. No getting out of your car...
just drive through and sign the petition!
Also, you can stop and enjoy the vehicles that
will be on display and enjoy refreshments on the
lawn. It's a fast and fun way to
participate in supporting Pontiac's Prison!
AND THEN ATTEND THE HEARING ON TUESDAY AUGUST
12th at 5:00pm at the Pontiac Township High
School!
Wednesday, August
6,
2008 @ 10:15am CT
Local Business Closes To Support Hearing!
Mayor McCoy has learned that
Lynn Chevrolet in Pontiac has decided to
take a leadership role in supporting the Save
Pontiac Prison efforts by closing their business
early on Tuesday, August 12th, so their
administration and staff can attend the Hearings
that evening. "I'm very happy that Lynn
Chevrolet has decided to do this," stated Mayor
McCoy who received the phone call this morning.
"I know John and his staff are very supportive
of our efforts and they've taken a huge step by
doing this. I hope others follow his lead
so we can pack the hearing this coming Tuesday."
Wednesday, August
6,
2008 @ 9:30am CT
Governor Calls Special Session - Conflicts with Hearing
The Governor has called a Special Session of the
State Legislature for August 12th and 13th in
Springfield.
Tuesday, August 5,
2008 @ 9:15pm CT
Central
Illinois Mayors Meet in Pontiac
Mayor Scott McCoy asked mayors from all of
Central Illinois to attend a meeting at Pontiac
city hall regarding the Pontiac Correctional
Center's closure. Fourteen area mayors
attended and discussed the closing and what it
would mean for their respective communities and
for the state of Illinois.
Tuesday, August 5,
2008 @ 10:00am CT
New Web
Site Format Released
SavePontiacPrison.com site released in our new
format. This site has been redesigned to
provide day-to-day updates and information
regarding the closure of the Pontiac
Correctional Center.
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